Doctor's Orders
by phoebenpiper
Summary: Jess pays a visit to Becker whilst he's home on medical leave after being bitten at the school.  Takes place after Episode 4.4.


Primeval - Doctor's Orders

by phoebenpiper

[Author's Note: This drabble is set after 4.4, when Becker is off on medical leave after being bitten in the school. I wrote it as a "thank you" to Nara for showing me such a great weekend - she's always complaining that I don't have any shirtless Becker in my stories, so I owed her! :) ]

...

As Jess knocked on the door a second time, louder and longer than the first, she wondered if she should've called beforehand. She'd convinced herself that she didn't want to wake Becker if he were sleeping - and it was likely that he would be, since the entire reason for his medical leave was to rest up as he recovered from the effects of the Therocephalian venom - but deep down Jess knew the real reason she hadn't called. If she had, Becker would've insisted that he was fine, that she shouldn't come, that he didn't need coddling or, in fact, any assistance at all. And Jess didn't want to risk him convincing her to stay away.

Jess awkwardly adjusted the heavy bag of groceries in her arms and was about to knock a third time when she suddenly saw the doorknob turn.

"Oh good, I'm so glad you're home," Jess gushed as the door began to open. "I didn't want to disturb you, but I thought you might...might need..."

Jess stammered and trailed off as the door opened to reveal a bleary-eyed Becker standing in the doorway clad only in plaid pyjama bottoms. She was so used to seeing him in solid black, from his tight black t-shirt down to his black combat boots, that she was somewhat surprised to find his bare feet peeking out from beneath his red and black pyjama legs. Clearly he hadn't shaved in several days for his face was covered with an attractive stubble.

But neither his bare feet nor his stubble were what had caused Jess to grow speechless.

Only a few days ago she'd seen Becker without his shirt as he'd changed into his street clothes, but she'd only really seen him from behind. Now that she was face-to-face with his bare chest, Jess found it impossible not to stare. He was muscular, but not overly so, with a well-defined torso and a patch of dark hair across his firm pecs. His skin glistened with a fine layer of sweat, as if he'd grown a tad overheated in his sleep, and the thought of him lying abed made Jess's mind start to wander.

"What do you want, Jessica?"

Becker's sharp tone, not to mention the use of her full name, snapped Jess's mind back to the present.

"I brought you groceries," she blurted out, self-consciously shifting the heavy bag in her arms, hoping he wouldn't notice how flushed she was. "And Chinese for dinner - I hope you like Chinese. I thought you might like a hot meal and some...company..."

Jess faded out as it occurred to her that he was still leaning against the doorframe, blocking the way, giving no indication whatsoever that he was going to let her inside. Despite being fully clothed herself, she suddenly felt incredibly exposed standing there alone on his doorstep. While she'd never exactly tried to hide her crush, she now worried that she'd overplayed her hand. After all, Becker was friendly enough at work, but he'd never given any indication that he was interested in spending his off-duty time with her. Maybe he only tolerated her because he was a professional and knew the team depended on her. Maybe his bringing her chocolate hadn't meant anything to him except keeping the field coordinator happy. Maybe he hadn't answered her questions about his personal life because he wanted to keep it and his work life separate. Maybe he had a girlfriend after all.

And maybe he wasn't alone now! Maybe his girlfriend was sitting inside right now, wondering why the impertinent girl at the door wouldn't leave.

"I...I didn't mean to interrupt your evening," Jess stammered, feeling her face growing warm. Suddenly wanting to flee, to get as far from him as possible, she held out the bag, insisting, "Here. Take this. I'm...I'm sorry I-"

"Jess," Becker interrupted, swinging the door wide. "Just come in."

Jess hesitated and was about to say something else when she noticed Becker's impatient look. Not wanting to aggravate him further, she quickly hurried inside as he shut and locked the door behind her.

"This way," Becker said, leading her from the front hall into the living room, where a large monitor was showing some sort of battle scene as the loud sound of machine-gun fire filled the air. He quickly walked over to his keyboard and shut off the DVD. He then picked up something black lying on the floor next to the sofa before leading her on towards the kitchen.

"What were you watching?" Jess asked curiously as she followed him, rather disappointed as he pulled his black vest on over his bare chest.

"_Black Hawk Down_," he replied. "It relaxes me. Helps me sleep."

Jess wasn't sure how ANYONE could sleep through that sound but didn't question it. Instead, she placed the grocery bag down on the counter and began removing its contents.

"I didn't know if you'd've had a chance to get groceries, so I thought I'd grab you some essentials," she explained.

"Chocolate?" Becker raised a questioning eyebrow as she placed assorted Cadbury bars upon the counter.

"Chocolate's essential," Jess insisted. "And since I was dropping by anyway, I thought you might like a hot dinner. I do hope you like Chinese."

Becker nodded as he placed the milk and cheese into the fridge. "You really didn't have to, Jess."

"I know," Jess said with a shrug. "I WANTED to. I wanted to make sure you were okay." She folded up the now empty paper bag and handed it to him. "So?"

Becker looked blankly back at her. "So?" he repeated, clearly lost.

"So ARE you okay?" she asked. "No one's heard from you since you left, and we were worried."

"We?" he asked doubtfully, and Jess could feel her face blushing as he called her bluff.

"Okay, okay, _I_ was worried about you. You took a nasty bite, and the doctor said it'd probably be over a week before all the after-effects of the venom wore off."

Becker shook his head dismissively as he filled the electric kettle and then placed two cups on the counter. "I'm fine, Jess. I've mostly been sleeping. I should be back at work in a day or two."

"But Lester won't let you back so soon - the doctor's orders say you're not to return to duty for a full fortnight."

Jess suddenly worried that Becker might wonder how she knew all this - she didn't want to admit that she'd skimmed through the doctor's report when she'd seen it atop Lester's desk - but luckily Becker didn't seem to notice.

"Doctors are always overly cautious," Becker said, taking two plates down from the cupboard and pulling out some silverware.

"Well, it's better that you're completely recovered before you come back," Jess said, starting to open up the boxes of take-out. "Better safe than sorry, right?"

Becker shook his head. Clearly he didn't agree, but he wasn't going to argue about it. He opened up the other boxes of warm food, peering curiously into each one.

"I didn't know what you liked," Jess explained, "so I got a variety. I hope it's okay."

Becker nodded, although he looked slightly disappointed as he opened up the final box. "It's great, Jess. Thanks."

Jess wondered what he'd been looking for and decided she MUST find out his favourite dish before the next time.

If there ever WAS a next time.

As the two of them piled up their plates with food, the kettle finished heating. After they'd each fixed their tea to their liking, Becker picked up his plate and cup and led the way out of the kitchen.

"I hope you don't mind eating on the sofa instead of at the table. I'm supposed to keep my leg propped up at much as possible."

"Oh yes, of course!" Jess suddenly felt guilty for having kept him on his feet all this time.

As they made their way back into the living room, Jess was able to take stock of the decor. She had expected his flat to be stark and barren, yet it was surprisingly homey. In addition to the large-screened monitor she'd seen earlier, she now noticed numerous photographs about, not to mention several pieces of artwork on the walls, neither of which she'd expected from the no-nonsense soldier.

As Becker folded the afghan that was strewn across the sofa, tossing it over the back of a nearby chair, Jess noticed the coffee table was covered with numerous empty Chinese take-out boxes. Suddenly Jess felt like an idiot. Being confined to the sofa for several days, of COURSE he would've been ordering a lot of Chinese. In fact, it was probably the last thing he wanted to eat tonight!

"I'm sorry," Jess apologised, setting her plate down before helping him toss the empty boxes into the dustbin.

"Sorry?" Becker repeated blankly.

Before Jess could explain, she watched him carefully lower himself onto the sofa, cringing. Despite his protestations, clearly he wasn't yet fully recovered. She hurried to his side, moving the footstool over so he could prop up his injured leg, but in her eagerness she knocked it into him, causing him to gasp in pain.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed, feeling worse than ever.

Becker shook his head dismissively, yet she could hear the pain in his strained voice as he replied, "It's fine, Jess."

She knew that he wasn't fine but she didn't want to make matters worse by questioning him. Instead she carefully got his injured leg situated on the footstool and then hurried around to sit next to him on the sofa.

The moment she'd taken her seat, the phone rang. Not wanting Becker to have to get up again, Jess sprang to her feet and hurried across the room even as Becker gestured for her to stop.

"Jess, don't. Just let the-"

But Jess was already answering it: "Captain Becker's phone, this is Jess."

There was a brief pause before a female voice replied, "Good evening, ...Jess. May I please speak with...the Captain?"

"One moment please," Jess said, handing the phone to Becker as she rejoined him on the sofa.

Becker took the phone and warily answered, "Hello?" After a moment, he continued, "She just brought over some groceries, Gwen. ... Yes, dinner, too. ... No, she just showed up. ..."

It suddenly struck Jess that this might be the "girlfriend" she had fretted about, and she didn't want her presence to get Becker into any trouble.

"Tell her I'm just a colleague," Jess whispered anxiously at Becker, but he dismissed her with a shake of his head as he continued to listen to the voice on the other end of the line.

Accompanied by an annoyed sigh, Becker finally asked, "Was there any other reason for this call, Gwendolyn?"

Jess recognised the use of the girl's full name as a sign of the soldier's impatience. She suddenly felt embarrassed to be eavesdropping, though she didn't have much of a choice - while she would've preferred to give him some privacy, it didn't feel right to wander aimlessly about his flat by herself.

"I'm fine, Gwen. ... No, the doctor's just over-reacting. ..."

Jess's eyes started to wander about the room. She noticed a large stack of video games next to the monitor and thought Connor would be impressed with Becker's collection. She strained to see if she recognised any of the titles, but they mostly looked to be military in nature. Jess smiled to herself - since he generally wasn't allowed to use live ammo in his current assignment, the frustrated soldier clearly must have to content himself with virtual ammo after-hours.

"Yeah, it was nothing, just an animal bite," Becker said into the phone. "... You know I can't tell you that. ... No, the doctor simply recommended bed rest."

Becker sighed loudly, and Jess turned to see him roll his eyes, clearly annoyed with whatever the speaker on the other line was saying. "Very funny. ... I told you, Gwendolyn, she just brought over groceries. ..."

But Jess's attention had already been drawn away to several photos upon the mantle, so she stood and wandered over to take a closer look. Several appeared to be family photos, with Becker and several other obviously related young people gathered about a staid yet friendly-looking middle-aged couple. In most of these Becker was standing next to a strikingly beautiful girl who was clearly his sister, with the same dark hair and intense brown eyes. Jess was amused to notice Becker and his sister sharing a private amusement in one photo, each sporting a matching conspiratorial smirk that contrasted sharply with the serious expressions on the others' faces.

"No, I don't need anything else," Becker said. "... No, I told Mum she doesn't need to come. ...No, really, I don't need-" Becker sighed in frustration. "... Yeah, tomorrow's fine. I'll obviously be here."

Another photograph caught Jess's eye, and she couldn't help but smile. The photo showed a younger Becker clutching a cricket bat. The thing that struck her was that instead of the black uniform she was used to seeing him in, here he was clad from head to toe in white. The stark contrast with the bleached flannels made his dark features look even darker and, surprisingly, made him look even more handsome, something Jess had doubted was possible.

"I need to go, Gwen. Our dinner's getting cold. ..." Becker gave one last annoyed sigh and eyeroll before insisting, "GoodNIGHT, Gwendolyn."

Becker shook his head as he hung up and practically threw the receiver down on the coffee table with frustration.

"Gwendolyn?" Jess asked curiously, rather convinced by what she'd heard of the conversation that the girl on the phone was NOT his girlfriend.

"My sister," Becker grumbled, rolling his eyes.

Jess smiled, somewhat relieved. "Is this her?" she asked, pointing to the striking girl in the photographs.

He nodded.

"She's beautiful." Thinking about how his sister had clearly just called to check up on him, Jess added, "And she seems really nice."

Becker responded with a derisive snort.

Not sure what to say to this, Jess picked up the framed photograph of him in his flannels. "I didn't know you owned any clothing that wasn't black," she teased.

"That was a long time ago," he shrugged.

"Yes, but still - it's so weird to see you like this. They're so...WHITE!"

"They're 'cricket whites', Jessica. What colour do you expect?"

At the sound of her full name, she realised he'd run out of patience with her teasing, so she quickly set the photo back down and rejoined him on the sofa.

"We should probably get to our dinner," she suggested. "As you said yourself, it's starting to get cold."

Becker shrugged and picked up his fork.

...

When Becker awoke, he was momentarily disoriented. The room was dark, and at first he thought he was in bed, but slowly he realised that he was actually on the sofa, the afghan neatly tucked in around him.

As he gradually returned to consciousness, memories of the evening started to come back to him. They'd had a pleasant dinner, with Jess filling him in on the goings-on at the ARC since he'd been gone. He'd never admit it, but he'd enjoyed her company, especially after the boredom of the last few days. He hated being confined to home, but deep down he knew he wasn't up for anything more at present. His bite was taking its own sweet time to heal, no doubt aggravated by the salt that Matt had poured into it, but Becker knew that Matt's quick thinking had saved his life - without it, the venom would've spread more rapidly, killing him. As it was, he was still recovering from the after-effects of the venom, which is no doubt why he'd been able to do little but sleep the past few days.

And last evening, too, he now realised.

Becker remembered Jess asking about _Black Hawk Down_, and they'd decided to put the movie on. However, Becker must've dozed off almost immediately for he couldn't even remember the first helicopter crash. He had no memory of Jess leaving, but she must've covered him with the afghan and turned off the lights. He felt embarrassed, especially because she must now realise how bad off he really was, but there was nothing he could do about it at present.

He groggily sat up and turned on the light. In the center of the coffee table, which he noticed had been tidied up, was a piece of paper with the following written in lavender ink:

_I didn't want to wake you, so I let myself out. I didn't know where you kept your cling film, so I merely left the remaining food in its cartons and placed them in your fridge. You should have enough for lunch tomorrow, and hopefully the groceries will last you several days. But if you need more - or need anything else - please let me know. I'm happy to help._

_Rest up, and feel better soon. __We__ miss you. :)_

_Jess_

Becker shook his head. Although he knew how much he'd appreciate her company, especially once he started to feel better, he also knew he'd never call her.

More importantly, he knew that he needed to hide Jess's note before Gwen came over. If his sister saw it, he'd never hear the end of it, and she already teased him enough as it was. He really should've known better than to ever mention the new field coordinator to her!

Becker grabbed the note as he made his way into his bedroom and crumpled it into a ball. He was about to toss the note into the dustbin when he thought the better of it. He could simply toss it in the morning, he justified to himself as he flattened it back out, folded it neatly, and set it atop his bedside table, where it became the last thing he saw before turning off the light.

...


End file.
